2025-08-31-accounts

Registered Charity No 1133139

Harborough Cinema

Trustees’ Annual Report for the Period 1[st] September 2024 to 31[st] August 2025

1. Reference and Administrative Details

• 1.1 The name of the charity is Harborough Cinema which was changed from Octagon Films in August 2022.

• 1.2 The charity registration number is 1133139.

• 1.3 Operating venue: Harborough Theatre, Church Square, Market Harborough LE16 7NB. Harborough Theatre is owned and operated by The Market Harborough Drama Society (MHDS), a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.

• 1.4 The names of the charity trustees who managed the charity during the reporting period are:

Michael Taylor (Chair) Margaret Shuter (Vice chair) Graham Powell (Treasurer/Charity Secretary) Catherine Kersey (Secretary to the Board of Trustees) Muriel Bibby Ann Height Bob Morris Avril Pell

• 1.5 The name and address of relevant organisations are: Bankers: Nat West, 16, High Street, Kettering, NN16 8SZ

Independent Examiner: Gerald Mitchell, 11, Sutton Road, Great Bowden, Market Harborough, LE16 7HW (now retired).

2. Structure, Governance and Management

Harborough Cinema is currently an unincorporated organisation and the governing document is the charity’s constitution adopted on the 10[th] June 2009.

• 2.1 The average membership during the year ending 31[st] August 2025 stood at 676.

• 2.2 Trustees are appointed or reappointed annually at the Annual General Meeting.

• 2.3 Harborough Cinema is a member of The UK Cinema Association.

• 2.4 All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no remuneration or other benefits.

3. Objectives and Activities

3.1 An extract from Harborough Cinema’s constitution states:

The Society’s objectives are to advance education in the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the arts, particularly the art of film and allied visual techniques for the benefit of the community in the Market Harborough area. Activities to achieve the objects include, but are not limited to:

• the exhibiting of films and the provision of lectures, conferences, workshops, festivals and similar educational events related to film watching and film making.

• the establishment or furthering of the work of other charitable institutions with similar objects and compatible activities.

• the provision of means for bringing to the attention of the public, the work of creative people in film making in all its forms.

• the provision of digital transmissions of live performances including music concerts, ballet, opera and drama productions.

3.2 The main Activities Undertaken For The Public Benefit in Relation to These Objectives

These include the showing of films (usually within 3 – 6 weeks of the release date in the UK), and live and event broadcasts, using a DCP Projector and Surround System that ensures top cinematic quality. The choice of screenings is undertaken by a Programme Committee that meets monthly. Selections are primarily based on viewing, in advance, potential films to be shown and/or via online database information including the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) and online review aggregation websites including Rotten Tomatoes.

3.3 Film Showings During The Year

68 different films involving 79 showings took place during the year. A total of 4904 admissions were recorded with an average attendance of 62.9 attendees per film. This compares to the previous year, with showings of 73 different films represented by 5236 admissions with an average attendance of 71.7 for each film.

Although 2024-25 saw Harborough Cinema screen a variety of screenings, with regard to films, some failed to receive high levels of national publicity from the distributors, resulting in low awareness amongst potential audiences and attendances down by around 6% on the prior year. Despite this, the low attendance films did receive good reaction index results. The 79 films shown excludes two volunteer event screenings (with an average attendance of 34), but includes a ‘members only’ French Film Evening at which two different films (The Crime is Mine and Rose) were shown, together with a French style buffet which was attended by 52 people.

Although Harborough Cinema has continued to support dementia friendly screenings (the prior year was the third year for the dementia friendly film screening), due to an issue with the film booking agency and the subsequent delay that ensued, there was no screening in the year ending 31 August 2025. However, a screening did take place on 10th September (The King and I – attended by 70 people) and details of this will be provided in the trustee report for this current year (ending 31 August 2026). These events are provided free of charge and supported by (MHDS) which waives its usual rental fee.

In addition to films, there were 21 ‘live’ performances and 6 ‘event cinema’ screenings in the year with 1329 admissions (20 in the prior year with 1066 admissions), broadcast via NT Live and the Royal Ballet and Opera. Event cinema is the screening of live or pre-recorded entertainment in cinemas, such as plays, concerts, operas, ballets, and more. It’s distinguished from live broadcasts in that these ‘events’ are never shown ‘live’ in cinemas. They command a higher ticket price than normal film showings.

Ten films were screened two or more times, including Conclave with 4 screenings and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy and The Salt Path both screened 3 times. There were 26 screenings that achieved 90+ attendance levels, with the best individual attendances being Conclave with 97 attendees and Lee and Maria both having 96 attendees. All 4 Conclave screenings achieved 90+ attendance levels with an average of 93.5 attendees.

The opinion of the audience is sought relating to each screening at Harborough Cinema by asking each person in the audience to record what they thought of the screening, thus helping us to gather information for future programming. This individual information is collated so that an overall ‘reaction index’ (RI) for a viewing can be calculated. The average RI for all screenings during the year ending 31[st] August 2025 was 83.68% (80.5% previous year). The lowest RI of 56.9% was for Baby Girl (1.3.25) and the highest was for Sonic the Hedgehog (15.2.25) at an RI of 97.5%. Other ‘star’

performers were Conclave (92%), Mafusa and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (both 93%), Paddington in Peru (94%), and Sonic the Hedgehog (97.5%)

Members of the committee attend at least two industry screenings each year. These are now twoday events for live showings. However, most films are available to watch at home until the following Sunday after the in-person screening-days weekend.

The committee makes a point of trying to watch every film at these sessions as they are very important in helping the committee to personally review over 40 films each year including films that are never shown at multiplex cinemas.

3.4 Young Person’s Film Festival

For the seventeenth successive year, Harborough Cinema participated in the young persons’ film festival organised by the national charity, IntoFilm. This year’s event ran from the 7th-28th November, with over 3,000 screenings and events nationally. Educators and learners were, once again, able to attend screenings free of charge in 580 UK cinemas reaching almost 400,000 young people aged between 5-18 years of age.

As part of its ongoing support for this initiative, Harborough Cinema provided film showings free of charge to children and teachers from 6 schools – 4 in the Harborough area, 1 in Leicester and 1 in Uppingham, together with a number of home-educated children. Once again, MHDS gave their support to the initiative by not charging HC for the use of the theatre facilities.

There were 3 films screened – Paddington in Peru (14 November), The Wild Robot (21 November) and Ocean with David Attenborough (28 November). These film showings were supported by teacher notes, enabling lessons to be created around the underlying subject matter of the films.

3.5 Live Broadcasts

Harborough Cinema is now in its 14th year of providing live broadcast events to the community which currently includes the regular content providers comprising, The National Theatre, and Royal Ballet & Opera. During the year ending 31[st] August 2025, 21 Lives and 6 events were screened generating a gross surplus of £4,775. These lives and events (an increase of around 50% up on last year) are generally well received, with high attendances recorded (often sell-outs).

3.6 Additional Details Of Objectives And Activities

Harborough Cinema is a not-for-profit organisation, and as such its volunteer team is the bedrock of its activities. Whilst numbers can fluctuate slightly, the volunteer base usually averages around 50. Their contributions include membership (an important area for Harborough Cinema with membership levels continuing to grow), administration, front of house duties, bar provision, film projecting, publicity materials (including social media), website management (harboroughcinema.uk), ticket production and general management.

Harborough Cinema believes that it can better meet the needs of the community by operating as a community cinema, run by volunteers and requiring a membership (though non-members can buy tickets). As well as a reduction on ticket prices, membership benefits included a French Film evening on 29 March 25, with two films shown and an interval buffet that included French foods and wine. Additionally, members have the opportunity to suggest to the Programming Committee films that they would like to see screened.

Harborough Cinema is an active member of external groups, both local and national. We continue to support external organisations including Creative Harborough and The Arts Society Harborough, both of whom continue to play an important role in fostering Harborough’s flourishing cultural and arts scene.

4. Achievements And Performance

Overall, Harborough Cinema made a surplus of £13,999 in the year ending 31 August 2025 compared to a surplus of £7,563 in the previous year. The average membership during the year ending 31[st] August 2024 stood at 676 compared to the previous year of 695.

5. Financial Review

5.1 The accounts for the year are presented using an income and expenditure format following the requirements of The Charity Commission.

5.2 The showing of films made a surplus of £7.423 (£5,215 prior year) this year and Live broadcasts made a profit of £4,775 (£3,074 prior year). Membership fees, which give Harborough Cinema a degree of financial security produced an income of £6,640 (£4,352 prior year). The overall surplus for the year amounted to £13,999 (£7,563 prior year).

5.3 The policy on Reserves is to maintain sufficient funds to maintain and/or upgrade existing equipment and to maintain continuity of operation if the theatre became unusable due to unexpected damage to the building which would require Harborough Cinema to relocate equipment to an alternative venue. Reserves also enable Harborough to Cinema, should it wish, to contribute to other local organisations relating to the making of films, the sponsorship of film festivals and to organisations that might want to show films to raise the profile of culture and the arts in the Harborough area. Finally, a significant level of Reserves can help Harborough Cinema make charitable donations to national charitable organisations with similar objects to its own.

5.4 Harborough Cinema’s reserves at the year ending 31 August 2025 were £25,589 compared to £11,590 the previous year. This significant increase in the level of reserves helps Harborough Cinema in its policy to attempt to attain a level of Reserves that equate to approximately one year’s turnover (£55,995 at year end). Although there is some way to go to meet this target, Harborough Cinema has relatively low fixed or recurring costs so Trustees are confident that the Reserves target can ultimately be met without any operating problems.

Though not shown formally in accounts we now have an asset register (equipment) valued for insurance purposes at £50k.

6. Future Plans

We believe that Harborough Cinema is a community hub, not just a place to see films. Therefore, we will continue to provide people, volunteers, members, audiences and others with an opportunity for social interaction as part of their cinema visit experience. People are at heart of a community cinema operation, and we will continue to strive to ensure that their ‘Harborough Cinema experience’ meets their levels of expectation through:

6.1 Ensuring our volunteers’ time and skills are recognised, providing additional training and development opportunities where appropriate, fostering a community that recognises both team and individual contributions.

6.2 Keeping membership costs low, including discounted ticket prices, developing a range of ‘benefits’ (including those exclusive to members) and ensuring members can play an active part in the future development of Harborough Cinema.

6.3 Conducting audience research to help tailor our programming schedule, and making cinemagoing an affordable and pleasurable viewing experience, enhanced by the big screen format that cannot be replicated at home.

Whilst our membership base and audience levels show steady growth we cannot be complacent, and will continue to build long-term relationships, not just one-off viewing, with our audiences. This will primarily be through the promotion of Harborough Cinema via our website, newsletters to members and non-members alike, social media platforms and improved window displays. Social media activity is proving particularly effective with over 850 followers on Facebook and over 570 on Instagram. In 2027, Harborough Cinema celebrates its 25[th] year and this will also feature in our future promotional activities.

Existing local ‘partnerships’ through our support for local schools, dementia friendly screenings, and a variety of cultural activities will continue to be an important part of our remit. And we will continue to build on these with partnership growth through organisations that have similar objectives to those of Harborough Cinema, including those that help to provide the means to bring to the attention of the Harborough public the work of local, creative people in film making in all its forms.

Approved by the Trustee Members of the Executive Committee 18[th] February 2025

Signed by Michael Taylor, Chair

HARBOROUGH CINEMA

Established in 2002 - Registered Charity Number 1133139

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Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31st August 2025

2024	£			2025	£
		Incoming Resources	Notes
4,352		Membership Fees	1	6,640
35,204		Film Showings	2	33,905
12,605		Live & Events Performance Showings	3	14,947
398		DVD & Equipment sales		0
366		Equipment Rental Income		312
61		Interest received		191
	52,986	TOTAL INCOME			55,995
		Resources Expended
29,989		Film showing costs	2	26,482
9,531		Live & Events Performance Showings	3	10,172
147		Film & Cinema Society Memberships		151
537		Equipment Upgrades & Repairs		656
863		Insurance		863
286		Ticketing		233
1,015		Marketing Costs	4	593
1,134		Programming Costs		755
170		Bank Charges & Fees		225
1,468		General Administration	5	1,678
283		Charitable Expenditure	6	188
	45,423	TOTAL EXPENDITURE			41,996
	7,563	NET SURPLUS			13,999
	4,027	Balance brought forward			11,590
	11,590	Balance carried forward			25,589
		Represented by:
2,676		NatWest Current Account		2,382
9,061		NatWest Business Reserve		23,252
28		Debtors		0
170		Cash Floats		170
11,935				25,804
345		less: Creditors		215
	11,590				25,589

Notes

• 1 Average membership 678 comprising Adult 626, Family 49, Curtain Raisers 3 (2024 – 645)

• 2 There were 79 films shown during the year - gross surplus £7,423 (2024 – 91 surplus £5,215) 3 There were 21 live performances during the year by NT Live & Royal Ballet & Opera plus 6 Event Cinema showings - gross surplus £4,775 (2024 - 18 surplus £3,074)

• 4 Marketing expenditure made members and the public aware of the new digital film showings and greatly increased membership numbers.

• 5 Administration covers membership applications & renewals, programme production and distribution, and sundry running costs.

• 6 Films shown for Dementia audience £180 (£216) and National Schools Film Festival £8 (£67) Market Harborough Drama Society provided the theatre free of charge.

Signed on behalf of the trustees on

17th November

2025

M Taylor

G R Powell

Independent Examiner’s Report on the Accounts of Harborough Cinema for the year ended 31[st] August 2025 Charity number 1133139

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011(the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

• examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,

• follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commissioners (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act , and

• to state whether particular matters have come to my attention

Basis of independent examiner’s statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a “true and fair” view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

• (1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:

• to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act;

• to prepare account which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met; or

• (2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Dated: 14/11/2025

G Mitchell 11 Sutton Road Great Bowden LE16 7HW